The head of the Tehran Chamber of Guilds criticized the silence of regime leaders over rising prices, saying that up to 70% of the production and supply of goods, essential commodities, and people’s livelihoods “have nothing to do with international events.”
Hamidreza Rastgar, speaking on Monday, October 6, to the state-run ILNA news agency, emphasized that these events “affect only 30% of goods,” and sometimes this effect “may be significant, moderate, or even negligible.”
He said: “For example, whether or not the dollar affects the import of luxury goods has no impact on the lives of the middle class. Only a small percentage of our society, due to their economic capability, use luxury goods.”
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Rastgar made these remarks in connection with the causes of rising prices in the market and ongoing debates about the impact of triggering the “snapback” mechanism on prices.
Earlier, on September 30, amid Iranian media reports about the psychological impact of triggering the snapback mechanism on the economy, Masoud Pezeshkian, president of Iran’s regime, accused the United States of “using the snapback to intensify pressure on the nation and stir internal discontent.”
On August 28, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany initiated a 30-day process to reimpose United Nations sanctions against Iran. The Iranian regime condemned the move.
In another part of his interview with ILNA, Rastgar said regarding the price hikes: “What has happened is largely a media and psychological war, pushing people to worry about what might occur and what the snapback mechanism is actually targeting.”
He added: “One of the main issues is that officials in the country are not explaining the snapback mechanism clearly and are not saying how much it could affect economic trends or how much it already has.”
Rastgar also emphasized the importance of preventing rising inflation, saying: “Those who make monetary, banking, and fiscal policies must stop artificial inflation.”
Rising prices and a sharp decline in sales of essential goods
In recent days and weeks, numerous reports have been published about the uncontrolled surge in prices across Iran.
The state-run Ham-Mihan daily wrote on Monday, October 6: “Alongside the rise in essential goods prices, sales of meat, chicken, fish, legumes, eggs, and dairy products in Tehran have dropped significantly compared to a year ago. Many customers now request to buy rice and legumes in very small quantities, just enough for one meal.”
According to the report, some butcher shops in southern Tehran have stopped selling meat due to soaring prices and, in some cases, have faced “requests to buy chicken scraps.”
Ham-Mihan added: “Data from the Ministry of Health shows that between 2006 and 2023, red meat consumption among low-income groups dropped by 40%, while bread consumption—being a cheaper source of calories—rose substantially.”
This comes as the price of bread has sharply increased in recent months with the authorization of Pezeshkian’s government.
In this context, labor and trade organizations have criticized the regime’s indifference, saying this trend harms the families of workers and other wage earners.
Currently, the base salary for a worker covered under the labor law is around 11 million tomans (110 million rials, roughly $100) per month. Even pro-government labor associations estimate that the monthly cost of living in large cities is about 50 million tomans (500 million rials, roughly $450).
